The lawyer of the driver who is charged with DUI manslaughter in the death of off-duty Delray Beach Police Officer Christine Braswell has filed several motions in an attempt to prove that Braswell was consuming alcohol at the night of the crash.
Evan Hoffman said Monday that his office filed the motions after learning about the sworn testimony of a witness which was released as part of the supplemental discovery by the state.
“Our beliefs were confirmed,” Hoffman said. “The sworn testimony states that Miss Braswell consumed three drinks.”
The witness was allegedly texting Braswell, saying that Officer Bernenda Marc, the passenger on the scooter who survived the crash, was “wasted” and “sick."
According to Hoffman, the witness testimony reads: “I sent Christine a message asking what she was doing. Her response was, Bernenda is wasted and I’ve got to get her home."
The testimony has not yet been released by the state.
Braswell then allegedly stated that she was fine to drive Marc home, Hoffman said.
He is now requesting all phone records from Braswell. He also filed a motion asking for the blood alcohol level of Marc.
Morris’s car collided with the scooter carrying the two officers in Key West on April 8 around 1:30 a.m.
Braswell died about 12 hours later.
Morris had double the legal alcohol level and cocaine and marijuana in her system.
Braswell’s toxicology report stated she had no alcohol in her system at the time of the crash.
The defense wants to test the DNA of the toxicology report to make sure it actually belongs to Braswell.
Criminal trial lawyer Greg Lerman said a false test from a medical examiner’s office is highly unlikely.
He said what is more likely, assuming Braswell had consumed alcohol that night, is that it simply metabolized by the time of the crash.
“There is a good likelihood, now you’re talking about three to four maybe five hours since you’ve been drinking, that all that alcohol has been eliminated at the time of the testing,” Lerman said.
Braswell’s blood was tested at 4 a.m.
